Every morning of this semester begins the same. Wakeup, get coffee, zoom meetings, email checking, and countless hours of stats homework. But, for one week all of the zooms, emails and exams stop, you close the computer and listen to the sounds of a busy household. Going home for me is filled with excitement about the home cooked meals and the amount of sleep I’ll finally be able to get. It also allows students everywhere a much needed break after a stress filled semester of self teaching and espresso shots. This year Thanksgiving may look different with the global pandemic keeping families from partcipating in normal traditions. Every year for thanksgiving my family likes to keep it just between us and it’s a time reserved to just stuff our faces with tamales and rice. There is however one tradition this year that looks a lot different: Black Friday. Every year since I was about 13 years old I’ve gone Black Friday shopping while this started as a journey to buy the new The Fault in Our Stars movie for 5 dollars it has since evolved into a family tradition. It began with my dad and I that chilly night I first witnessed people fighting over two dollar towels and slowly each year a new member of the family began to join. Thursday night at 5pm we would be at target or walmart trying to snatch up whatever DVD’s, CD’s and Playstation games we could, this was our family bonding. This year that family bonding will look a little different since most stores will not be having Black Friday. That means the Hernandez family shopping trip will be put on hold for the year but it gives us a chance to huddle over a laptop and try to figure out if I really need a Cold Brew Coffee Maker. Regardless of missing out on the shopping trip of a lifetime, heading home is going to give me the mental break I need and give me the opportunity to appricate that despite this tirbulant year, I have been blessed with health and wellness.
